Mary Marsh: Animal rescuer extraordinaire

Abby reaches out to grab a peppermint treat offered by Mary Marsh. Photo by D. Coffey.

Abby reaches out to grab a peppermint treat offered by Mary Marsh. Photo by D. Coffey.

Denise CoffeyReminder News

One woman's animal rescue crusade

Plainfield's Mary Marsh shares her home with a menagerie of animals, castoffs that have ranged from the woolly to the watery. She calls it the 1/2 Ass Farm.

Twelve goldfish swim in a heated 150-gallon outdoor pool. Three rabbits occupy cages on the boundary of her land. Two stray cats, Mr. Peaches and Skittles, stay close to the deck where a food tray and bowl of water are kept for them. Inside are Chihuahua crosses, Cocoa, Karria and Tyson. In a room all their own live Limey the parakeet, Poncho the Nandy Conure, Mango the Sun Conure, and Casey the cockatiel. Silly Kitty, a tortoiseshell cat, sleeps wherever she pleases.

Marsh has taken in goats and donkeys. Once she woke to find that someone had dropped off two cows on her property. "I've even had a tree frog living in the plants in the summer," she said. "Some animals need a chance. I've always felt bad for the underdog."

Marsh's penchant for taking in animals springs from her upbringing. Her mother ran a riding academy and her father was a livestock dealer when she grew up in Rehoboth, Mass. Marsh worked at Waterville Valley Gateway in New Hampshire in the late '60's. She took in rescues because she couldn't afford to buy horses for the trail rides. "If the horse worked out, it stayed. If it didn't work out, I sold it, but not for slaughter," she said.

Marsh operated Windy Acres Equine and Wildlife Refuge in Escoheag, R.I. for several years. She moved to Griswold in 1996 and Plainfield in 2006. In the last eight years she's taken in a donkey named Frosty, a Bashkir Curley named Teddy Bear, a section B mini by the name of Lady, and Hot Fudge Sundae, a pinto who needed special shoes.

These days she's caring for a Tobiano paint mare by the name of Abby. She took the horse under her wing when her son, Todd, found it while shopping for a horse. They didn't like her living conditions and offered to buy her. As soon as a rabies and Coggins' test could be done, they moved her off the property and found a place to board her.

Now Marsh spends her time and money making sure Abby gets enough to eat. She makes a daily trip to check on Abby, bringing her bread and peppermint treats, checking her blankets and her stall. "I always liked horses better than people," she said as she offered Abby a treat. The mare took it eagerly. "I have this odd anxiety. I'm okay as long as I'm with dogs or horses."